Hankook iON Race Handles Tokyo’s Day-to-Night Transition Across Two Races

• Rounds 14 and 15 of Season 12 brought FIA World Championship night racing to Japan for the first time, with Dan Ticktum and Nick De Vries taking victory in Tokyo.
• Thunderstorms required teams to adapt to changing race conditions across the double-header
• iON Race maintained predictable grip and stable performance as teams adapted from warm daytime sessions to cooler night racing conditions

TOKYO, July 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter Hankook), the exclusive tyre supplier to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, equipped all teams as Formula E completed Rounds 14 and 15 of Season 12 (2025/26) at the 2026 TDK Tokyo E-Prix.

In Round 14, CUPRA KIRO’s Dan Ticktum passed Jake Dennis at the penultimate corner of the final lap to take victory, with Nick Cassidy finishing third. In Round 15, Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries won ahead of Cassidy and Dennis. Throughout the weekend, drivers, teams and officials paid tribute to the late Citroën Racing Team Principal Cyril Blais, with Cassidy dedicating his podium finish to Blais.

The 2.575-kilometer temporary circuit around Tokyo Big Sight featured 18 corners and three straights through the Ariake waterfront district. Tokyo’s third Formula E weekend introduced night racing to the venue for the first time, changing the conditions teams encountered between daytime sessions and the races.

The unsettling weather also repeatedly altered track temperatures and surface conditions, forcing teams to adapt tyre management, car setup and race strategy throughout the weekend. A second thunderstorm on Sunday led to the cancellation of Free Practice 3, before wet and gradually drying conditions made Round 15 particularly demanding as grip evolved throughout the race.

Throughout the weekend, Hankook’s iON Race delivered consistent performance as teams transitioned from warm daytime sessions to cooler night races. The temporary street surface, changing temperatures, and evolving grip levels placed particular emphasis on tyre warm-up at the start and following restarts, as well as consistency across the full race distance.

“Bringing Formula E night racing to Tokyo for the first time made this a distinctive weekend and one of the more unusual tyre assignments of our season,” said Manfred Sandbichler, Senior Director of Hankook Motorsport. “The contrast between afternoon running and the 20:05 races shaped how teams prepared for both events, and the iON Race managed that transition and the changing weather conditions well, delivering consistent and predictable performance as the circuit cooled through the evening.”

Following Rounds 14 and 15, Jake Dennis leads the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Drivers’ standings on 146 points, just two points ahead of Mitch Evans and five clear of Pascal Wehrlein. With all three drivers still closely matched, the title will be decided at the 2026 Hankook London E-Prix double-header on 15–16 August. Broadcast details for each region are available on the “How to Watch” page of the Formula E website.

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SOURCE Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd.

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